Restaurant owners feel they are paying through the nose for gas

Joe Camilleri

Aug 8th 2009, 12:17

Very true Ludwig, we actually stopped going to restaurants as such and decided to just go for take aways and eat at home in peace., and if i may add, we only go to Maltese run restaurants and no foreign muck. Joe Camilleri

Ludwig Flask

Aug 7th 2009, 21:13

A restaurant is a full blown business. Whatever expense increase it is incurred, in this case LPG it will be reflected in the bill. If not we will be sold crap.

What concerns me is that 18% of the amount in the bill is given to government, i.e. instead of thanking us 'customers' in dining out, giving work to cooks, waiters, and so on, and the restaurant owner hopefully earns a living and makes profit for either personal perusal or investment plans, we get taxed as well!

Thomas James

Aug 7th 2009, 20:03

Restauanters are getting a bit too GREEDY for my money, especially in places like Gozo i visited for the first time last week, places we went to i thought were a bit steep were a little village called Qala, Marsalforn and Xlendi bay(pity really its a very nice and picturesque, still i don't think i'll be making a second visit somehow, i am sure gas bottles are a bit of an excues on their part. Thomas James (The UK)>

A. Calleja

Aug 7th 2009, 19:50

The example given by Kurt Sansone in the news article is very revealing. I dont know which restaurant was quoted but few serve less than 20 meals a day. An annual increase to € 3432 from 1924 divided by 240 business days divided by 20 diners works out as an increase of 31 Euro cents per diner. We already pay through the nose and therefore its just a fly biting an elephant.

D.Calleja

Aug 7th 2009, 16:01

Restaurant owners always complain about their costs going up and use it as an excuse to cover up their shameless price-lists. They even lobby for vat rate decreases arguing that this will make it cheaper for us to eat out at their venues while increasing their business.

I will give just one example to show how self centered their business cartel is.

One of the ‘non value added commodities’ that they regularly sell is wine. We all know that the price for wine has gone down considerably since government removed the levy and tax previously burdened on these products. Everyone knows how high their mark up is when comparing their prices to the average price for a nice bottle of wine one buys straight off the shop shelf.

Have they marked their prices down to reflect a stingy 100% profit?! NO WAY . . they still want to make a clean 200% to 300% profit on an item which they JUST BUY IN CHEAPER BULK QUANTITIES, HOLD IN STORAGE and THEN EFFORTLESSLY POP OPEN when required!!

So I say to government: Let them first prove that they want to play a fair game before considering any of their appeals.

Wilf.Owen (tourist)

Aug 7th 2009, 15:57

Well lets put it this way, restaurants must be rackin it in as the price of a meal for two has jumped enormously since last year, though still cheaper then other resorts taken in consideration local wages for the locals still above average for a meal for two. I find some restaurants inGozo, places like Marsalforn and xlendi are realy expensive indeed and will not visit anymore as there ain't many to choose from, but more of a choice in Malta. Wilf.Owen.

ALISTAIR BUSUTTIL

Aug 7th 2009, 15:48

well we have to wait for the new gas supplier to see if price of gas goes down,the same competition between mobilephone operators

victor caruana

Aug 7th 2009, 15:36

I am sure they are.

However we are paying through our sinuses for half a small bottle of soft drink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Charles Muscat

Aug 7th 2009, 15:15

Contrary to what T. Azzoppardi stated, no one can afford a high standard of living. Malta is facing a very low standard of living concidering the cost of living being so high.

J.Spiteri

Aug 7th 2009, 13:47

Also check the weight of a full cylinderSo far on a bathroom scales, a full 12Kgs Cylinder when full should weigh 24Kgs,15Kg Cylinder should weigh 30Kgs when full.
In Marsascala, so far I only had ! cylinder neat that weight, the rest been 3 to 4 Kgs short.
I complained to EneMalta the other week, had a couple of replies telling me the weight of a full cylinder and the area, but nothing else so far!!!!!
Now that we are paying more for the gas, rightly or wrongly, than we should get full cylinders, please try it out.

M Borg

Aug 7th 2009, 11:12

@ T.Azzopardi

Totally agree. The prices most restaurants charge for a meal i'm sure it will cover the price of a gas bottle.

I can't say i care for restaurant owners however i do care for the general public. With the price of electricity being so expensive and standard of living in general being ridiculously high and i can only see the general public being hurt from the increase.

I. Gatt

Aug 7th 2009, 10:58

Well one need not be gifted with extra sensory perception to realise what the outcome of this all shall be!
Restaurants without no doubt shall increase their prices, we as humble patrons and because the island offers little else as regards to entertainment than the pleasure of eating out, will continue to do so. Yet, uncannily enough the cost of living price index will remain the same or might even show a decrease. Sadly this is a reflection of the complacency which prevails and which dominates us all...........sad, very sad indeed........

T.Azzopardi

Aug 7th 2009, 10:02

Restaurants do not subsidise us consumers when going for a meal at there places, so I don't see why the government should subsidise them (which in turn means we subsidise there profits through taxes for the governement to keep such measures).
I personally think they are being very selfish. When you open for business, you know costs can go up, like us consumers know that when visiting a restaurant prices go up.
I am sick and tired of such moaners driving luxurious cars and owning lavish villas asking for the government not to increase cost (especially when such costs would have increased at source). Nobody subsidises my salary when the pizza I buy goes up in price or when the vegetables I buy / food increases in price. Malta's businessmen have become a joke.